


Doctor's Note

by Glowstickia



Series: Gasoline Believer [6]
Category: Paranatural (Webcomic)
Genre: Competent adult, Gen, pnatsummer, school nurse!Zarei
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-28 02:14:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15038432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glowstickia/pseuds/Glowstickia
Summary: Another kid doing something incredibly dumb to end up in her office. Dr. Zarei needed an aspirin. Two kids from the Activity Club walk into her office...shaken.Dr. Zarei needed two aspirins.





	Doctor's Note

**Author's Note:**

> zarei pov zarei pov zaREI POV ZAREI POV
> 
> I'm a few weeks ahead for Zarei week...OOPS. But that's okay. Feel free to join the summer ladies event at mayviewmaidens on tumblr!
> 
> Song listened to while writing this fic:  
> -No One Will Save You by Aviators

Dr. Zarei PHD (?pending) pressed her fingertips together as she pushed her falling glasses closer to her face. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply through her nose. She opened them upon exhaling--hearing the distant echoes of Patchworm reminding her. " _They are kids Mina_."  
  
"So, from the top," she started, already rubbing away the beginnings of a headache, " _how_ did you get that up your nose again?"  
  
The kid in question winced as they once again tried to breathe through their nose. Lodged in their left nostril was a bottle cap. "I called dibs." Their voice sounded plugged, and if Zarei wasn’t staring at them, would’ve assumed the kid had a cold. They avoided her gaze and gave a quick shrug.  
  
She nodded slowly and immediately turned on the sink. Hands sterilized. Gloves - the yellow latex snapped at her wrist - on. She rolled out a cloth from her bag and grazed her finger along the tools until she found what she was looking for...tweezers. She turned back to the child and squeezed the tweezers a couple times. _Clip_ _Clip_ "Hold still." She said taking a seat in her rolling stool and tilted the kid's chin back, "This will probably hurt."  
  
The kid shook a little. Tiny movements as she clipped onto the bottle cap and-  
  
_SLAM_  
  
_YANK_  
  
"ZAREI WE'VE-oh."  
  
The sudden noise behind her startled her. She turned quickly around and heard metal drop to the floor. The kid immediately jumped to the ground, one hand on their nose while their other arm was outstretched as they chased after the metal rolling on the ground. "MY BOTTLE CAP!"

Zarei clicked off her little flashlight, closed her eyes and breathed. The day was almost over. _The day was almost over_. When she opened them the kid was squatting on the ground with their hands close to their chest. She stared at the two children standing awkwardly in the doorway. Black and red smoke billowing off of their shoulders. She held up her index finger while her other hand was removing her gloves.

She needed an aspirin.

While the kid was still huddled on the ground, looking read to throw down with the two new arrivals, Zarei walked over to the kid, squatted next to them, and placed a hand on the kid’s shoulder. “If I have to pull anything else out of your nose it’d best be tissues from a bloodied nose. _Got it?_ ”

The fight response was immediately replaced with flight. The kid nodded. “Yes, ma'am.”

She gave a curt nod and smacked the kid’s back lightly. “Good, now go back to class.”

The kid rose and glared at the two in the doorway as they passed. Soon as they were in the hallway, the kid made a run for it.

Zarei rolled her eyes as she stood, grunting a little, and walked over to the sink. She pitched the gloves and placed her tools down on the counter to be sterilized later. “Close the door behind you,” she said as she suds up her hands. When the door clicked she sighed. Well, she did want answers. “So,” she said while pulling paper towels from the dispenser, “What brings Richard’s students to my office _this_ time?”

Isabel shared a knowing look with Maxwell. Zarei's eyebrow raised as Maxwell swung the backpack he was carrying onto the floor and started rummaging through it. Isabel rocked on her feet and twitched a grin. "I like your hijab." she said as her fingers twisted in each other, "I didn't know you like polka dots."  
  
Zarei felt heat rise to her cheeks as she lightly touched her headscarf. "It was a gift." she said, her tone forcing to stay even as she brushed one of the light blue hearts surrounded by cotton candy pink. "Now," she cleared her throat and returned to her desk as she pulled files from drawers, "What brings you here to bust down my door like bulls hm?"

Maxwell pulled out a wooden box from his backpack. It was rectangular and made of a light wood. Maple perhaps? On top was a sliding lid. Was this some kind of trap?

“We were wondering,” Isabel said as he placed the box on Zarei’s desk, “if you could….get rid of this for us.”

She felt a tug of curiosity pull her heart strings and lay waste to any potential warning bells in her head. Her hands hovered over the box before she placed them back in her lap. She squinted at the two children before her. “Is this--a prank?” She asked, “Did Richard send you?”

The duo immediately shook their heads. “No, no that’d be awful.” “Spender doesn’t know.” “We’re like twelve. We’re mature.”

Zarei hummed as the two continued fumbling over themselves. She tapped her finger tips together. “So,” she started, “he does not know of whatever is in this box?”

“No.” They said in almost unison.

She nodded. “And,” her hands steepled, “you do not wish for him to _know_ you have, whatever is inside this?”

“No!” This time they were in unison. Their energy flared up again.

Zarei raised an eyebrow. “Well,” she shrugged and leaned back in her chair. It creaked, “he does not tell me his secrets, so I won’t tell him-” The two side in relief. Her lips twitched, “However,” They groaned. She tapped the box, “you must tell me what is in here, and how you retrieved it.”

Isabel bristled. Maxwell lowered his hat. They exchanged looks and silent words before she spoke up. “We’ll tell you, but it doesn’t leave this office...deal?” She held out her hand. Without breaking eye contact, Zarei grabbed her hand.

“Now,” she said, releasing Isabel’s hand and adjusted her glasses, “what have you brought me to my office and how did you acquire it?”

Isabel cleared her throat. “Well-”

“So this guy almost killed us,” Maxwell blurted out and shrugged as if it was no big deal.

Isabel’s energy roared to life. “Max!”

“What? It’s true,” he stuffed his hands in his pockets and kicked at dust, “we were both there.”

Isabel rubbed her hands down her cheeks. “Do you wanna tell it then?” She asked, giving him the side-eye. Black flared and rolled off his shoulders. She nodded and took a deep breath. “Did Mr. Spender ever tell you about the spirits in the park?”

Zarei shook her head. She heard some whispers about it from the Dojo students, but not much else. Spirits were everywhere in Mayview, all compact and compressed into one small city, if she could even call it that. “You will have to be specific.” She said, nails tapped her desk, “We don’t exactly _talk_.”

They shared a glance, before Isabel continued. “There were rumors about a dangerous spirit that was causing some havoc in the park and most of the activity seemed to happen at night.” She explained as Maxwell beside her nodded along. “We split into two teams and lost track of Spender.”

Maxwell shrugged. “I mean, he was at the car when we came back. We never saw him or the other two.”

“Nope,” Isabel’s gaze shifted to the ceiling as though she was recounting that night, “the first time we ran into it...it was fast.”

“The spirit?” Zarei asked, noticing the distance in Isabel’s eyes for a brief moment.

Maxwell squeezed her shoulder. She nodded. “Yes.” She tugged at the hem of her jacket, “We didn’t know what kind of powers it had, it was just…”

“Super creepy,” Maxwell said.

“Yes.”

“Like it had that one glowing eye-”

Isabel gave him a very tired look. He closed his mouth and shrugged. “As I was saying,” she turned back to Zarei, “we..well ran and headed for the playground.”

“Better than the lake.” Maxwell muttered. Isabel elbowed him.

Zarei tilted her glasses. “And what is this spirit’s power?” she asked, in attempts to keep them on track.

“Oh, well…” Isabel sighed and rolled her wrist, signalling Maxwell that it was now in fact his turn.

“We think it might be to-” he glanced briefly at Isabel and was suddenly at a lost for words. Isabel’s brows furrowed and whispered something quickly in his ear. He nodded and adjusted his cap. “It manipulates emotions.”

Zarei sat up in her chair. “What?”

“Yeah, it like…” his lips thinned for a moment, “whatever you’re feeling in that current moment the spirit can uh...turn it up a lot of notches.”

Zarei steepled her hands and sat forward. Her eyes narrowing. “Does it have last effects?”

They both looked at each other and shrugged. “No?”

“None that we’re aware of?”

Her eyebrow twitched. “Alright,” she sat back in her chair and took a deep breath. She needed two aspirins. “What else can you tell me about this spirit.”

Maxwell rubbed the back of his neck. “Well…”

Isabel twisted her fingers. “Mmmmm…”

“It...did try to _murder_ us.” Maxwell scratched his neck, “Like...two times? Five?”

Isabel shuddered. Red bloomed off her shoulders. “It had long arms with sharp fingers…” She shuddered again, “Don’t know what would happen if someone were to get hit with those…”

Zarei sighed. “That’s all.” She wanted to know more. She _needed_ to know more. But... “Thank you,” she said, opening one of her drawers and placed the box inside. She closed the drawer and waved them off. In a sudden roll their energy flared to life and disappeared into the ether, then faded, almost as though she had (both figurative and literal) lifted weight of their shoulders.  
  
They stood in stunned silence, both prepared to further their case, but judging from the color slowly draining from their faces as they had continued talking… Zarei didn't want to push these two any further. Patchworm's words from earlier rang in her head " _They are kids, Mina_."

Maxwell picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. His lips thinned as he pulled his down a little. Isabel in turn rubbed her shoulder, if Zarei remembered correctly, it was the same one she sewed... Maxwell patted her back, gave a nod to Zarei, and left the room. Isabel sighed deeply as faint red smoke rose off her shoulders. "Dr. Zarei?"  
  
She arched an eyebrow. "Hm?"  
  
"Please don't...mention any of this to my grandfather either."  
  
Her lips twitched. "You're secret is safe here." She pulled a pen off of the re-purposed school mug on the desk and tapped it against the yellow form she had on her desk. "I assume you both will be needing passes too?"  
  
Isabel's eyes fluttered. "Uh, yes...actually yes."  
  
Zarei hummed and quickly wrote the date and signature on two sheets. "Do not make this a regular thing." She said, holding the notes out for Isabel to take. She grabbed them.  
  
"Thank you," she said, gave a respectable bow and jogged out into the hallway.  
  
Zarei heard two muffled voices talking grow quiet. She rubbed her forehead. Perhaps...she needed three aspirin.

* * *

 

 **Bonus:** Ed pressed his face against his textbook and groaned. Who in their right minds ever actually studied in study hall? Nerds, that's who. He did his homework, completed, finished. It was all he could do to keep the boredness at bay. His usual entertainment ditched him before the period even started. He was all set to follow, but the VP caught him slithering out- "Without a hall pass."

He perked up almost immediately when his sister slid into her seat next to him. She didn't say anything about ditching or the silent convo she and Max shared. He twitched in his seat. Friend...Stealer...

**Author's Note:**

> I have....4 fics "planned" for this series....possibly more. Next three fics are all sibling based fics while the 4th is a bit of a multi-pathed monster. My brain is currently quickly turning on and off the light switch going "Hallo, hallo welcome to my cave."


End file.
